Brassiere



July 26, 1960 R. F. BlANC'Q 2,946,334

BRASSIERE:

Filed April l, 1957 ATTORNEY BRASSIERE Ruthe F. Bianco, 47 West St., Worcester, Mass.

Filed Apr. 1, 1957, Ser. No. 649,810

3 Claims. (Cl. 12S-484) This invention relates to a new and improved brassiere, and the principal object of the invention resides in the rprovision of a new and improved means for maintaining the bosom against displacement, particularly in cases where the bosom is heavy.

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a brassiere comprising a pair of `cups including usual means to secure the same to the body, and in combination with an underlay adapted to engage the body of the wearer just under the brassiere, i.e. in the region of the diaphragm, said underlay comprising soft elastic webbing attached to the brassiere at its ends, at opposite sides of the cups, and extending to the center where the webbing is attached and provides separation at this point, the webbing maintaining the cups and therefore the bust in desired forward position, preventing the same from spreading laterally and downwardly or in any way slipping from the desired forward position.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a brassiere having an underlay as above described, said underlay comprising a pair of soft elastic webs or straps, each of which is secured at its ends at opposite sides of the cups of the brassiere, and one of which extends in invert-ed V form to the center of the brassiere where it is secured as at the apex of the V; and the other elastic web or strap being substantially straight and also secured at its ends adjacent the ends of the V-shaped web or strap, crossing the same and providing means to hold the cups in desired position but at the same time contacting the body of the wearer below the bosom, said straps when relaxed being shorter than the comparable adjacent fabric portion of the brassiere and maintaining the cup portion of the brassiere in the desired location.

Further `objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is t'o be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a perspective view, with parts broken away to show the construction and illustrating the brassiere as it Would appear upon the body of a wearer;

Fig. 2 is a rear View illustrating the construction of the underlay, parts being broken away, this View showing the elastic webbing in stretched condition as it would appear when in use;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view which illustrates the relative position of the cups of the brassiere when worn as compared to the position of the stretched elastic webs.

In carrying out the present invention, there is provided a brassiere having cups i@ and 12. These may be of any desired or convenient construction, and the brassiere also includes means such as strap 14 and a buckle or the like 16 for encompassing the body of the wearer and in some fashion securing the brassiere to the body. Also, if desired, shoulder straps 18 may be utilized.

Between the cups and 12, there is an upright hem or seam which is indicated at 20 and this forms a separa- VPatented July 26, 1960 tion for the cups. Also, the brassiere includes an clongated strip of fabric at 22 which is not actually part of either of the cups but extends well below the same to contact the body of the wearer in theregion of the diaphragm.

The present invention contemplates the use of a pair of soft, elastic, preferably knitted, straps or webbing which are easily stretchable longitudinally thereof. It is convenient to refer to these straps as providing a pair, one of which is indicated at 24 and is in the form of a broad or inverted V having an end 26 sewed into a seam or hem 28 at one side of cup 12 and having its apex connected at 30 in the seam or hem 2li, centrally of the cups. The strap 24 continues to the opposite side of cup 10 and is sewn into a seam or hem 32. 'I'his strap or webbing may of course be formed of a pair of straps, the ends of which are sewed in at the hem 30, rather than a single elongated strap.

The invention also contemplates the use of a second strap which is indicated at 34 and it has its ends sewed into the respective hems at 26 and 32 slightly above the ends of the web `or strap 24. The strap 34 crosses the legs of the V formed by strap 24 as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and is also secured at its center as at 36 to the hem 20 but well below the apex at 30.

Both straps or webs 34 and 24 when relaxed are considerably shorter than the fabric of the brassiere which corresponds thereto in the region 22; and in the Fig. 2 position, it will be understood that the brassiere is shown with the webbing stretched as would be the case when the brassiere is in place on the body.

The result of this construction is that when the brassiere is worn, the straps or webbing 24 and 34 lie beneath the bosom against the body of the wearer in the region of the diaphragm, and it is believed that this is clearly shown in the diagrammatic view in Fig. 4 and in the cross-Sectional view of Fig. 3.

The inverted V-shaped web 24 causes a lifting and separation of the bosom and the straighter strap 34 keeps the bosom from spreading because it keeps the cups from spreading. It must be kept in mind that when in place, the new brassiere always maintains'a tensio-n on the soft webbing 24 and 34, and for this reason contro-l of the brassiere cups and therefore of the bosom is imparted thereto, which prevents even heavy bosorns from spreading laterally or slipping from the desired forward position. A stiffening type of material of plastic Ior boning may be used with seam 32 if found desirable. Controlled separation is accomplished the length of the garment.

The soft web 24 and 34 may be easily adjusted by conventional buckles and straps, particularly at the side seams 28 and 32 in order to iit particular or out-of-the ordinary situations.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A brassiere comprising a pair of fabric cups and including means to secure the same on the body, and an underlay fastened to the brassiere and adapted to engage the body below the bosom and anchor the cups in position to prevent the bosom from slipping from a front position, said underlay comprising elastic webbing extending from a position at one outer side of 'one cup to a central position between the cups and from the central position to the outer side of the other cup, said webbing when relaxed being shorter than the corresponding fabric of the brassiere, said webbing including a pair of members one of which is in the form of a broad inverted V and the other of which is generally straight across the cup area and below the same, both members being secured References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES pATENTs Washburn Sept. 6, Spetalnik July 17, Curran Nov. 13, Lo Coseio Sept. l, Steinmetz Apr. 2l,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar, 9, 

